I. Field of Invention
The invention generally relates to data communications, and more particularly to non-wireless communications of digital data from one device to another device using sound.
II. Description of the Related Art
Advances in communication technology have made it easier and faster to share and/or transfer information. High volumes of data can be communicated through data transmission systems such as terrestrial communication systems or satellite communication systems and/or local or wide area networks (for example, the Internet). These systems generally require complicated hardware and/or software and are typically designed for high data rates and/or long transmission ranges. For transfers of data at close proximity or short distances, such as between two mobile phones, the systems above may be undesirable because of the complexity, network or system access delays, inconvenience of use and/or the cost.
In addition, the functionality of portable devices, such as mobile phones, continues to grow. This increase in the functionality has created a need to more easily communicate information from one portable device to another. For example, there is a desire to share contents of address books, music, graphics and/or other data from one mobile phone to another. Furthermore, with the growing popularity of multi-player gaming, it is desirable to quickly and reliably communicate information among one or more portable devices.
Therefore, there is need for a less complex, yet user-friendly, inexpensive and/or efficient way to share and/or transfer information.